JR 21 Toys’ enthusiasm for FAB 1 was such that they went as far as to produce two different versions of the now iconic vehicle. Both used the same basic body mould but incorporated different internal workings. Here we see the more expensive, at the time, battery operated version. Like the battery-operated THUNDERBIRD 1 in the same range its namesake was driven with the traditional friction power many toys of the period utilised. This battery operated version boasted headlamps which lit when the forward and reverse motion was in use.
Hand operated variable wheel control allowed the car to move to the left or right or ultimately go around in a circle much as it did when stolen by crooks in the episode ‘Brink Of Disaster’. Inside the clear canopied vehicle we see partial painted figures of Lady Penelope and Parker. A chrome effect too was applied to appropriate sections of the car to offer the impression of quality and craftsmanship one would associate with the ‘real’ vehicle. A button also engaged forward firing machine guns just as any good 1960s secret agents car should!
Nowhere in advertising or packaging is the vehicle referred to as a Rolls Royce and there is no ‘Spirit Of Ecstasy’ on the grill. The box has a variant design with one, as shown here, having a plain painted image of FAB 1. The other has a descriptive “Special Features” listing incorporated into the artwork. Both designs however have the now famous Lady Penelope motto:
ELEGANCE CHARM AND DEADLY DANGER
Jim Lewis
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